I
got little sleep.
Next morning, July 24, soon after light, the main body of the Guides and
Lovat's Scouts (who are under Rimington at present) came out, and we
rode down to the slopes on the left of the Boer valley again. Here we
crept up as far as we could and began to put in our fire. It must have
been very annoying for them, for a part of their position was quite
exposed to us. We could see the short white cliff at the edge of the
basin and the Boers moving about and running up and down, diving into
fissures and getting under cover, for all the world like rabbits, as our
fire searched the position. They replied, but though a lot of bullets
were whistling about, no one was hit. There was a Maxim at the foot of
the conical hill rattling away, and the Black Watch were again on the
hill itself, blazing away at the rocks as vigorously as ever. Then at
last between us and them up gallops a section of guns, and the little
puff balls begin to burst along the rock edge in a way which we could
see was very disconcerting for the Boers, who were rapidly finding the
place too hot for them. A little after, some one sings out, "Here comes
the attack!" and true enough we can make out the little khaki dots in
long loose strings moving forward round the hill towards the valley
head. It is the Seaforths. We on our side "carry on the motion," dash
forward, lie down and shoot, and on again.
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